Chlordiazepoxide

Chlordiazepoxide treats anxiety. It can cause drowsiness. Do not suddenly stop taking chlordiazepoxide without talking to your doctor because you may experience harmful withdrawal symptoms.

Chlordiazepoxide Overview

Reviewed: July 30, 2013

Updated: July 26, 2016

Chlordiazepoxide is a prescription medication used to treat anxiety disorders, symptoms of anxiety, and withdrawal symptoms of acute alcoholism. Chlordiazepoxide is also used to treat anxiety prior to surgery. Chlordiazepoxide belongs to a group of drugs called benzodiazepines, which work by slowing activity in the brain to allow for relaxation.

This medication comes in capsule form and is taken up to 4 times a day, with or without food.

Common side effects of chlordiazepoxide include loss of coordination, confusion, and drowsiness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how chlordiazepoxide affects you.

Chlordiazepoxide Precautions

Serious side effects have been reported with chlordiazepoxide including the following:

paradoxical reactions. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms of a paradoxical reaction:

excitement

increased stimulation

sudden feelings of rage

behavioral changes. All patients being treated with chlordiazepoxide should be monitored appropriately and observed closely for clinical worsening, suicidality, and unusual changes in behavior, especially during the first few months of treatment and when increasing or decreasing the dose. Consider changing the therapeutic regimen, including possibly discontinuing the medication, in patients who show symptoms of anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, akathisia, hypomania, mania, or suicidality that are severe, or abrupt in onset. Families and caregivers of patients should be alerted about the need to monitor patients daily. In addition,

pay close attention to any changes, especially sudden changes, in mood, behaviors, thoughts, or feelings. This is very important when an antidepressant medicine is started or when the dose is changed.

call the healthcare provider right away to report new or sudden changes in mood, behavior, thoughts, or feelings.

keep all follow-up visits with the healthcare provider as scheduled. Call the healthcare provider between visits as needed, especially if you have concerns about symptoms.

psychological and physical dependence. It is recommended that you talk with your doctor before either increasing the dose or abruptly stopping use of this drug.

withdrawal side effects. To avoid these side effects, do not suddenly stop taking this medication. Discuss with your doctor about slowly decreasing the dose before stopping use of this medication altogether. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any or all of the following symptoms:

feeling generally unwell or uneasy

insomnia

shakes

tremors

stomach cramps

muscle cramps

vomiting

sweating

Chlordiazepoxide can cause drowsiness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how chlordiazepoxide affects you.

Do not take chlordiazepoxide if you are allergic to chlordiazepoxide or to any of its ingredients.

Chlordiazepoxide Food Interactions

Medications can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of chlordiazepoxide, there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving this medication.

Chlordiazepoxide and Pregnancy

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

The category for chlordiazepoxide is unknown. However, an increased risk of malformations linked with the use of chlordiazepoxide during the first trimester of pregnancy has been suggested in several studies. Because use of these drugs is rarely a matter of urgency, their use during this period should almost always be avoided.

Chlordiazepoxide and Lactation

It is not known if chlordiazepoxide crosses into human milk. Because many medications can cross into human milk and because of the possibility for serious adverse reactions in nursing infants with use of this medication, a choice should be made whether to stop nursing or stop the use of this medication. Your doctor and you will decide if the benefits outweigh the risk of using chlordiazepoxide.

Chlordiazepoxide Usage

This medication comes in capsule form and is taken up to 4 times a day, with or without food.

Alcohol may intensify some of the side effects of this medication.

If you miss a dose, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take your next dose at the regular time. Do not take two doses of chlordiazepoxide at the same time.

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